Tram car for mine drills



2 Sheets-Sheet l W. B. MANNING TRAM CAR FOR MINE DRILLS Aug. 30, 1949.

Filed Feb. 26, 1948 INVENTOR;

WILLIAM B. MAAZf,

, @w kw hN mm m m5 Gm HTTORNE).

Patented Aug. 30, 1949 UNITED 2l48 ,6-6 1 TEAM cannon nine een-cs l ll mfi- Ma flarlmfril al Application ebruar 26, ea fi r e fl ai ilifi 3 Cla m (Cl.35

This invention relates to tram-cars-for mine .drills, and the main object of the invention-is to provide a practical and efiicient tram car foruse in moving mining drills :along the horizontal shafts. and galleries of a-coal mine or the like, .where drilling operations are under way.

Another object of the invention is'to provide in compact form a practicaltram-car -for expediltionsly transporting conventional forms of mining :drills from .one :location to anotheralong the shafts and galleries of a mine, such as a coal mine, .Wherebyzdrilling operations .may be speeded up and time saved. I

Another object of the invention isto provide. a tram-car ,of'the kind referred to, the .same in- ;cluding a suitable wheel-borne and steerable, motor driven chassis, a tonneau with seats and electrical control and operating elements mounted at the 'forwardend of :the chassis, a tool box mountedat the rear end; there of, andlpedestal plates mounted upon;the-sides of the chassis for operatively supporting. drilling. apparatusin convenient position-forsuch drilling operations.

With the stated-objects in'view togetherhwith such additional ,odjects anda'dvantages as may appear fromthespecification, attention is called tothe accompanying drawing as illustrating a preferred'form ofthe tram-car, and wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of the tram-car, showing the construction of the chassis and accessories and showing conventional" forms of mining drills mounted thereon .and shown in their lowered positions.

Figure 2 is a side elevation ofthe assembly'as shownlin Figure 1.

Figure 3 is asection on the line-3-3 of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1. 'The tram-car as constructed inaccordance with this invention comprises an oblong chassis referred to generally at the same including channelled side beams 5a, and plates 51), cross braces 50, and floor-5d, the material used for these structural elements being channel iron, angle iron, sheet iron or the like, or any other suitable material, all assembled in proper form by welding, riveting, bolting, or other conventional =means and methods. V The chassis 5 is carried upon pairs of front and rear wheels 6 and 1, thefront-wheels beingjournaled upon spindles 8 which'a're formed with and merge integrally at: their inner ends intoheavy, upstanding; pivot pins -8a,- and with horizon-tally and rearwardlyextended steee'r-ing arms8b, the latter being formed at their -free endswith verti-' cally apertured heads-3c. :Ihe pivot pins-8a are :seated treely. upwardly in sleeves or sockets 1.9a formed in the ends-oi the lrigidlylmounted axle or cross member s, anchoredito and suspended-from the :side beams a of :-the chassis 5." A .pair of short and transversely extended-steering arms 1 I I] are provided, the-sameihaving; vertically apertured heads I 0d at their :outer. 'endss'for positioning be- 40w the-heads 8c -ofithe armstiib;.afterwhichlbolts I are passed throug ltheseheadsandnutsare turned upon the threaded ends of the bolts for operativelylockihgstheseelements-together. -.The opposite (inner ends ofsthelarms I10 tarelth-readed for adjustably engagingilongitudinally bored and tapped lyoke'linkslllz which are .abifurcatd at their oppositeinner ends as at v I 2a, so that ,one may be J overlapped upon the gather, as l clearly shown in Figure" -3,- aftenwhich they arepivotally pinned together. by a-h'olt: t3; passed through their apertu-redi andvover-lappedeends.' .Asteering post :14 .is medially,2xzertically and; pivotallyvrnounted uponwtheuvertioally extended cross-.platei t5 iwhich ,isanohored -at: its lends laterally tothe iside: beams 15a, by: means-of bearing or pivot blocks :I 8.bolted .at lfia, in vertical alignment l upon :the rear; side of the plate I 5,.andthrough,whiclrrecessedablocks the. post .:I 4.15 ifreely extended. Alshort, fiat and integrally 1 formed lcontrol zlug l I-Aaz is extended horizontally neanwardiirom the. lower end of the post I4; theouter end thereo fubeing slottedas. at I [4b -andtbei-ng positioned?.between-ithe forks u I 2a Of the inner: yloke lifik l 2, withthe bolt l 3 passed through the s'aid-s l'ot L Mb. A steering (lever. or handle me is eiitendedstraightl y forward from the upper'end'of' thsteeringl' post 14. With: the oonstruction shown; the moving-ofi the handle I lie to-the; left -or wnight s'erves to stenthe 1 tram-car likewise. Ihe front -w-heeels fii are-mounted-relatively closer:together than therear-rwheels 'l and are cambered or toed inwardly tor the purpose of facilitating theoperationlof the vehicle within the gal/leries-andshaftsor a a mi'n'e. '-=T-he plate I5 is c-utawayas shown in 'Fig-ure' 3, to accommo- =date the--fron-t wheels.

side beains 5a iorwardly of the -plate It; and is anchored at-itsends tot tli'e beams. 'At thlsfob wardsend of the 'car the bottom is-lower'ed}a'sat 52 and--is =supported-in place--by-the downwardly extended and =c'onnected-side plates 151i which depend at this end-afrorntthe;- sidewbeamsefialandsto iwhich beams. the side-platesareanchored. lA-lpair of. seat iorabenchaplatesaid-.are. mountedgsin place along theiiorwardendsofathebeamsfia and are rigidlye-securedkitheretoat thei r -;outer ,margius. sT-hese arran ements eompletetheoperators ton.-

neau at the forward end of the car. The bottom 5c of this tonneau, between the seats l8, provides space for coiling and carrying the rubber power line cable l9. A conventional electrical control box 20 is mounted upon the bench-plate H, with the operating gear-shift and reversing levers 20a, 20b turned forwardly for the convenienie of the operator. The brake lever 2| for operating the conventional brakes (not shown) is also extended into convenient position within the tonneau.

The rear wheels I of the car include the usual drive assembly of axle and differential housings 1a, bolted together as at lb, and brake drums 2la, which housings inclose the rear axle shafts, differential gears and brakes, and which are not here specifically shown as same comprise merely conventional devices. The housings la are supported in place at the lower ends of bracket or hanger plates 5g, to which the housings Ia are rigidly attached by welding or otherwise, as indicated at 5h. The usual braking conduits, cables and connections (not here shown) are operatively connected or associated with the brake lever 2| within the tonneau and whereby the braking elements and shoes within the drums 2 la are also controlled. A tool box 22 is mounted at the rear end of the chassis 5 for carrying drill bits or other tools. The tram-car is driven by means of an electric motor 23 supported in position on hangers 23a mounted upon and extended from the chassis, and the drive shaft of this motor is connected in the usual manner with the difierential drive gearing within the central housin 1a,. Electrical energy is supplied to the motor 23 through leads within the cable [9, the ends of these leads being provided with suitable plugs and couplings for connecting with the usual outlets within the mine and with the complementary connecting. elements of the motor. These connecting elements are specifically shown. Through the use of the long electrical leads as inclosed within the cable Hi, the car may be conveniently moved from place to place within the mine for drilling operations.

An elongated drill pedestal plate 24 is extended across the rear end of the chassis 5, forwardly of the rear wheel 1, the ends 24a of this plate being projected laterally of the beams 5a, and being braced and supported by the angular brackets 24?). The plate 24 is suitably anchored by welding or otherwise to the beams 50., and similarly the brackets 24b aresecured to the outer sides of the beams and to the ends of the plate 24. The extended ends 24a are rounded off as shown in Figure 2, and these ends are pierced through in circular alignment with a plurality of regularly spaced adjustment holes 24c.

A pair of conventional mine drills 25 are provided, the same including the circular base plates 25a, pedestals 25b, tubular columns 25c pivoted at 25d to the pedestals 25b for vertical movement and adjustment, drill motors 25c and drill chucks 25f pivotally and adjustably mounted at 25g to the outer ends of the columns 250, and the drill column elevating motors 25h mounted at the bases of the columns for raising and lowering same, the said drill motors and elevating motors being electrically energized in the usual manner by leads extended for that purpose, no invention being claimed in respect of the scheme of electrical extensions, leads and connections. The base plates 25a supporting the pedestals 25b are rotatably mounted upon the ends 240; of the plate 24 by means of heavy pivot bolts 26 extended centrally down through the plates 25a and through the ends conventional and not here Q 4 24a of the plate 24. As means for releasably locking the rotatable drills 25 at any desired point of horizontal rotation relative to the pedestal plate 24 upon the ends of which the drills are mounted in the manner described, latching devices 21 are conventionally provided and mounted upon one side of the pedestals 25b, said devices including latch bolts Zla slidably mounted through lugs 21b and adapted at its lower end to selectively engage any one of the apertures 24c of the ends 24a of the plate 24, thus locking the drill in any desired operative position. The latch bolts Zla are operable by levers 21c. Conventional forms of removable covers (not here shown) may as a matter of course, be placed over any of the otherwise unprotected conventional electrical units or devices employed in the tram-car assembly.

In operation the tram-car is driven to any desired work point in the mine with the drills in their lowered positions. The drill columns 250 are then rotated by hand to the desired direction and are elevated also as desired by means of the motors 2572., after which the drills are latched to position and are set to work by energizing the drill motors 25c. Power is supplied to the several motors through the long electrical cables and leads as inclosed in the cable l9, which may be made as long as desired, and thus quite a stretch of work area is afforded with one setting of the tram-car.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred form of the tram-car together with specific structural features thereof, the embodiment shown as well as the structural details, may be changed or modified as desired within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A tram-car of the kind described, the same comprising an oblong body frame carried upon pairs of front and rear wheels and axles, the front axle elements being shorter than the rear axle and the wheels thereon being steerable, the body frame including side beams supported upon the said axles and extended substantially forwardly and outwardly along the outer sides of the front wheels and rearwardly and inwardly along the inner sides of the rear wheels, cross braces conmeetin the side beams, a vertically positioned rear end cross plate connecting the side beams adjacent their rear ends, a vertically positioned frontal cross plate connecting the side beams above the front axle, the ends of this frontal plate being cut out through their lower margins for seating over the frontal wheels, side plates an.- chored at their upper margins to the forward ends of the side beams of the body frame, a forwardly disposed floor section supported between the lower margins of the side plates pendant from the forward ends of the side beams of the body frame, a rearwardly disposed floor section supported between the lower margins of the rear ends of the side beams of the body frame, bench or seat plates mounted flatly and horizontally along the inner sides of the frontal ends of the side beams of the body frame and of the said frontal cross plate, for completing a tonneau at the forward end of the car adapted for carrying an electrical power line and control elements, and a tool box mounted at the rear end of the chassis.

2. In a tram-car according to claim 1, means on the rear end of the car for supporting and carrying conventional mining drills, and means for operating said drills.

3. In a tram-car according to claims 1 and 2,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Billings June 11, 1901 Pennington May 6, 1902 Rae Jan. 23, 1906 Beemer Apr. 18, 1939 Slater Nov. 20, 1945 Beck Aug. 13, 1946 Fellay et a1 Dec. 14, 1948 

